


Funny Pain

by Haze7



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-22
Updated: 2019-04-22
Packaged: 2020-01-23 20:23:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18557179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Haze7/pseuds/Haze7
Summary: Prince Baekhyun is not your ordinary prince. He is too brave, too humble.Park Chanyeol, though forced into the world of royal butlery, finds himself aspiring to be the best.Kim Jongdae thinks he could whine his way through all the world’s problems.They will all survive, right?





	Funny Pain

Jongdae was in the midst of brushing his teeth when he saw a big entity reflected in the mirror, right behind him.

“I. NEED. MONEY,” Chanyeol said hauntingly with his big eyes almost bulging out, scaring his friend who inevitably lost his grip on his toothbrush, having it land right into the rubbish bin.

“I have nothing to say to you except — I. HATE. YOU,” Jongdae gnashed his teeth and proceeded to grab Chanyeol’s toothbrush on the bathroom countertop, only to dump it ceremoniously into the bin, where his own toothbrush now resided. He decided because they were best friends, it was only natural for their toothbrushes to be buried together.

“Jongdae-yaaah!! You’re cruel! I just told you I’m short on money!” Chanyeol attempted to cling onto Jongdae’s arm only to be swatted away like a fly.

“That’s a bunch of BS! Are you aware of the number of shoes you bought just in these past three months?!”

“Uh... Just three pairs?”

“Yes! That’s one pair for a month!” Jongdae could now no longer control his flaring nostrils. “We’re not even talking about the expensive sweaters you bought yesterday - they’re exactly the same, just with different colours! You could have chosen one but you took four!”

“Uh, Jongdae-ya, I get it, I’m sorry so please calm down — ”

“Awaeee! Do you have any idea how annoying it is to listen to you talking about how you don’t have enough money to buy another pair of shoes when I could barely pay our rent this semester?”

“Jongdae-ya...”

“Nah, whatever. Forget I said anything.” Jongdae started to walk out of the bathroom but was stopped by Chanyeol’s hand on his shoulder. The tall man lowered his gaze and pouted his guilty pout which never failed to soften Jongdae’s heart.

“Jongdae-ya... You know how dumb I can be sometimes, or well... most of the time. I wasn’t really thinking. Sorry if I hurt you with this stupid mouth of mine. I know you could just ignore me when I asked you to be my roommate this year, especially to stay in this apartment that’s certainly not cheap. I’m really dumb, aren’t I?”

“Yeah. No doubt about it, you’re very dumb,” Jongdae said as Chanyeol nodded his head multiple times. “But I know what you were thinking when you begged me to be roommates. You could have easily chosen a single room which you, or rather, your family can afford,” Chanyeol noticed how Jongdae never missed to rub it in that his family was the rich one, not him, though jokingly.  
“But you chose to share a room with me, probably thinking I could pay less this way, and to top it off, this apartment is way safer and closer to the campus compared to that cheap old shack I was planning to stay at. Right?”

Chanyeol only kept his mouth shut, knowing that being silent was the best way to stop himself from hurting his friend more.

“Chanyeol-ah, I hate how caring you actually are. Even though I rarely show it, I really do appreciate all the things you do for me, especially the cooking.” At this, Jongdae put a smile on Chanyeol’s face.

“Yaa! Jongdae-ya! I’m gonna make your favourite burger for dinner tonight!” Chanyeol moved to hug the smaller guy only to receive a soft punch on his face.

“You better make that burger. With extra cheese.”

“Yup. With extra cheese.” At that, the both of them laughed as if there was no tomorrow, except that they had classes today to prepare for.

“Uh... I don’t think I have any more toothbrushes. We used them for that art class, didn’t we? And I haven’t brushed my teeth yet.” Chanyeol whispered to himself or Jongdae, Jongdae didn’t know.

“Good luck.”

 

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

“I was being serious when I said I need money.”

Jongdae only rolled his eyes.

“I only have 10 bucks left in my account. And both Mom and Dad, and even Yoora refused to pick up my calls. I know they’re doing it on purpose.”

“It’s a long time coming, bro,” Jongdae said stoically and then sipped his tea like a proper British man. “You must have spent equivalent to a family of 20.”

“Jongdae-yaa... Won’t you help a friend out?” Chanyeol landed his head on the table, with his nose planted into his McMuffin. This made Jongdae sigh in defeat.

“Yah, Chanyeol, you remember I told you about that bratty kid I am teaching right?” This made the taller’s brows go up into his hair.

“You mean the royal kid?” Chanyeol asked as he lifted his head up so quick he could get a headache.

“He’s the cousin of the Crown Prince, to be exact. And lower your voice!” Jongdae half-shouted and half-whispered, only to receive a smirk from Chanyeol.

“What are you teaching him again?”

“Just music, mostly singing and vocal stuff. So yeah, I heard they’re recruiting someone to teach him piano, so you could maybe give it a try? Though you better not put your hopes too high.” Jongdae continued emptying his cup while Chanyeol only stared at his friend’s face with his mouth gaped wide.

“Where do I sign up?” Chanyeol suddenly said as his eyes shined with hope.

“It won’t be easy, and I’m telling you, that kid is a brat.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Thanks, bro! I know you’re my best friend for a reason!” Chanyeol immediately stuffed his mouth with food, as if he just found his appetite.  
“I really hope this works! You know, I was counting how much I should spend per day with only 20 bucks in my wallet, and I certainly shouldn’t even be eating here but now, I’ll make it work! Right?”

“I thought you only have 10 bucks?”

“Well, Dad used to nag me to hide my money here and there, in between pages and in pockets, so I don’t spend them all. And look how useful that advice is, it all comes down to today. Thanks, Dad.”

Jongdae only sighed, too tired to entertain his friend.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Chanyeol miraculously passed the interview, probably only because he had less contenders. He dared to say that the interview was even harder than the one he went for his university. This did involve the royal family, so it was only natural, he guessed. Thanks to some awards he had received in some piano competitions, and the various certificates he had collected, he managed to pass the requirements. Three days after the interview, he found himself bequeathed with the task to teach the youngest grandson of the monarch, Prince Byun Baekhyun, some piano lessons.

“How old is he again?” Chanyeol asked Jongdae who was fixing his hair with copious amount of gel.

“Jeez, Chanyeol. This is the fifth time you’re asking. He’s 17, four years below us.”

“I think your hair looks good enough.”

“Were you listening? How old is he?” Jongdae sat himself beside Chanyeol on the bed.

“17, right? And his full name is Byun Baekhun.”

“It’s His Highness, Prince Baek-‘hyun’. Plant that in your head.”

“Yeah, yeah, I was just testing you. So when are we going to meet this prince?”

“Are you even ready?”

Jongdae’s question was answered with multiple nods from Chanyeol, returning the taller’s hair back to its messy state which really triggered the shorter.

“I doubt it. I’m going to ask you a question then. What will HH study for his tertiary education?”

“Uh... Medicine, right? That’s weird, don’t you think?”

“Correct, and I have nothing to say to that. Why don’t you ask HH yourself? If you dare.” Jongdae gave him a smirk.

“You’ll see, before long, we’ll be playing video games together all day. I’m sure he’s played Resident Evil at least once.”

“Whatever you say, Chanyeol. Whatever you say.”

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Chanyeol’s piano tutoring was supposed to start an hour after Jongdae’s vocal lesson, but as today’s agenda was only to introduce the new teachers to HH, he was told to come into the room after 20 minutes. He had been waiting on this comfy sofa for 10 minutes and was about to visit the dreamland when he heard voices passing, probably belonging to someone walking through the hallway.

“We both know your Father hardly approved of this.” A female voice resounded.

“I couldn’t care less what Father thinks. It’s not like he suddenly took a liking to music. Haven’t you heard him singing in his room? In the shower? This whole family’s singing talent probably went to him. This is better than him playing games all day. If this is what Baekhyun wants, then I’ll support him to the best of my ability.” This time the voice of a man, probably not that much older than Chanyeol reverberated down the hallway.

It did not take long for Chanyeol to figure out that the male voice must have belonged to the 1st prince of the Byun Kingdom, HH Prince Byun Baekbeom, the older brother of Prince Baekhyun. Before he could eavesdrop more, a maid appeared to lead him to the room where his student was waiting. He secretly hoped Jongdae was still in the room to be there with him. He knew he was being unnecessarily nervous, but many things could go wrong - what if he accidentally stepped on the royal’s shoes? What if he forgot to wait for the royal to sit down first? What if - 

“Remember to knock,” the maid softly said, bowed and took her leave. Chanyeol did not even realize he had arrived at his soon-to-be workplace. Before he could rise his hand to give the door a knock, his best friend Jongdae opened the door from inside instead and walked out of the room only to close the door again. Chanyeol did not even manage to open his mouth to beg for his friend to stay with him as Jongdae gave him a short bow and an evil smirk before briskly walking away from him.

Everyone dies alone, and will be buried alone. Chanyeol could imagine Jongdae saying these words.

Inhaling deeply, the lanky man told himself he deserved some time to gather himself before entering the fateful room. He readjusted his collar, the cuffs on his sleeves, and his wristwatch. He even dabbed some cologne on the sides of his neck, half-aware that his body was trying to stall for as long as possible. In the end, he thought he took at least three minutes to calm his racing heart, albeit by a little. He knocked on the door twice, and let himself in when he heard no response.

First, he took stock of the room, with the plain walls and the high ceiling, just like the rest of the castle-mansion. It was sparsely decorated yet screamed grand and elegant, with hints of dark blue and violet here and there. Chanyeol’s eyes immediately landed on the silvery white piano in the middle of the room. Only when he saw no one on the piano bench did his mind register the absence of his royal student.

“Uh, Your Highness?” Chanyeol quietly called to no one. After calling out for the third time, he started hearing sounds of rustling and thought he must have gone bonkers from all the nerves, but after a short while he was able to pinpoint the origin of the noise. It came from the lavish looking sofa facing towards the largest TV screen he had ever seen, except that there was no royal prince to be seen on it. With a gulp, Chanyeol slowly walked towards the sofa and noticed that it was placed against a massive silk curtain with very little space in between them. He had to wonder the reasoning behind having a curtain on an empty wall until he heard another sound - a very faint noise, like a soft grunt coming from behind the curtain. 

“You better be kidding me.”

Chanyeol never felt as shocked and as excited as he was that time when he found something like a big vent near the corner of the wall, and without hesitation he made attempts to let himself in. He only took a minute before finding himself crawling in the vent, which was surprisingly clean except for some dusts and spiderwebs. He found it weird how lighted the vent was without any source of light that he could see, and made haste when he started feeling a little claustrophobic, especially due to his large body that was barely able to squeeze through the tunnel.

When he finally reached the end of the tunnel-like vent, he was already in the city which he knew as the Forest City, mainly because this was one of the cities nearby, and because of its name being displayed on the boards on top of most buildings. He had been here a few times with his sister when she was on her shopping spree, and when his parents were craving some street food.

The detective in himself started kicking in, instantly recognizing the small body in a grey hoodie as the royal prince, who was swiftly making his way through the crowds, looking as if he knew the place very well.

Prince Byun Baekhyun. Do you have any idea how much you’re making me sweat? And we haven’t even met yet. Chanyeol thought as he wiped his sweat off his forehead, the mess that was his hair left ignored, half-jogging and half-running towards the boy yet still keeping a few distances between. He thought he should first figure out the royal prince’s intent before jumping into a lecturing worried mom mode, the boy was 17 and should be able to think for himself.

 

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

With every step he took, it became harder to advance forward as he drowned deeper in the sea of people. Despite this, his eyes never left the prince because the boy would be his source of income for at least the next nine months. He was also secretly worried for the younger’s safety, easily reminded of his past 17-year-old self who had too much freedom after his final high school exam.

Chanyeol’s mind snapped to attention when he heard loud screams filled with excitement from the exhibition centre Prince Baekhyun was walking towards, and realized that the crowds are all heading for the Cat Festival taking place there. He also did not fail to notice how even the royal prince picked up his pace, probably curious to see the cause of such commotion among the people, but Chanyeol had an inkling the applauses were for a magic trick performance or the like involving feline creatures.

As it turned out, there was indeed a competition for cats with the best tricks - Chanyeol did not have to go far into the crowd with his height, he could even see in detail that a cat was pushing away all the bowls containing food, and only opened its mouth when its owner came to feed it with a spoon. There was also a cool cat that demonstrated its skills with the skateboard, and another one that could swim fast.

Meanwhile, a certain royal prince could obviously be seen struggling to watch the performances with his unfortunate stature, craning his neck to no avail. Chanyeol could hardly stifle his laugh and immediately felt guilty, so he opted to feel sympathetic for Prince Baekhyun to make up for it. After several different expressions of frustration portrayed, Prince Baekhyun finally walked away from the competition and instead headed to the stalls selling various cat food, toys and merchandises.

Chanyeol was debating in his mind on whether or not he should approach the prince but he thought better to do so when they were not in public. He only observed as Prince Baekhyun took four packets of dry food and gave them to the stall owner, and then three packets of a different brand, each with different flavours, and then a bunch of wet food pouches, and then a whole box of wet food, and - Chanyeol’s brain short-circuited as he saw the prince endlessly picking up different kinds of cat snacks and treats, no longer able to keep up. After some time which felt like hours to Chanyeol, Prince Baekhyun made his purchase and trudged along with a big grin on his face and multiple paper bags and plastic bags in his two hands. Chanyeol just knew it would be impossible for the small guy to be walking back home with all that weight and was about to offer help when the prince suddenly stopped in front of another stall, this time selling cat merchandises.

“No way you’re buying more, there’s just no way.” Chanyeol thought out loud and was very close to come to the prince’s aid when he saw the small guy pointing his finger at a big black and grey backpack with a big paw stamped on it. The stall owner looked happy to be able to sell the bag and talked his mouth off as the prince stuffed the bag with all his findings. Before he left the stall, the prince mulled over which t-shirt he should buy and bought both of them at the end. Chanyeol couldn’t really see what were the designs on the t-shirts, but he did know the colours, one was turquoise and the other black.

Once they left the building, they walked to a park where some kids were playing catch. Prince Baekhyun sat himself on the bench and seemed to be massaging his shoulders and his back. Chanyeol decided to intercept the royal prince right then and there but stopped himself when he saw the smaller deep in thought, biting his lower lip. After a hot minute, the prince stood up and walked to the group of kids, probably to play with them, leaving his backpack behind. Chanyeol was really itching to lecture the prince about leaving things behind unsupervised, but then he saw the prince walking back to the bench to retrieve it. Chanyeol guessed the prince was giving out the cat food he bought to the kids as he could see them flaunting around the packets and sachets excitedly. 

Prince Baekhyun put on his backpack and suddenly jogged out of the park, looking like he had a different destination in mind that was not home. It was already 5 pm, his piano class with Chanyeol that never took place should have ended long ago and someone was bound to notice. The destination they were headed turned out to be a GameStop, which secretly thrilled Chanyeol as he had never been to one in this area.

Unfortunately, Chanyeol could not explore the shop and instead decided to stay near the entrance due to the risk of being found out ‘stalking’ the prince, and he should also be watching over the backpack the prince left without hesitation beside the counter. Once Prince Baekhyun was done picking the video games he wanted, he brought them to the counter, while Chanyeol hid himself behind a nearby rack. Chanyeol had the time to think he should maybe try for a bodyguard instead of being the prince’s piano teacher when he almost lost sight of the prince who was already exiting the shop.

This time around, Prince Baekhyun took a different route, walking through alleys after alleys which Chanyeol thought must be a shortcut back home. This would be the best setting for the worst to happen, and Chanyeol couldn’t help feeling a chill running from the nape of his neck down to his spine. He really hoped the prince did this solo expedition only once in 10 years because there were just so many things that could go wrong, especially with the fact that no one seemed to know.

And the worst thing happened.

“What are you doing?!!!” Prince Baekhyun exclaimed when a guy in black started to pull his backpack away from him. Chanyeol did notice him but that was some alleys ago. This time there was no need to think, Chanyeol just joined in, sided a shocked Prince Baekhyun and pulled the backpack away from the mugger without the prince even having to ask for help.

The tug of war continued for a while, Chanyeol could feel his heart rate picking up quick as time passed, praying in his heart that the mugger would let go. Suddenly he thought of an idea which could make the guy give up.

“There’s nothing in the bag! Only cat food!” Chanyeol screamed in the midst of pulling, but received no response, probably due to the mugger wanting to keep as much of his identity secret.

“Yeah! I swear there’s only cat food!” That was the first time Chanyeol heard the prince’s voice, though he wished it was under different circumstances. “There’s a cat festival near Jade Street, I swear!”

To prove his point, Prince Baekhyun opened the zipper but that was honestly a stupid move in Chanyeol’s opinion as all the contents of the bag came flying out. Because there was less force to pull the bag from Chanyeol’s side due to Prince Baekhyun’s focus on the zipper, the guy managed to yank the bag towards him, pulling the prince along who eventually landed hard on his palm. He fell to the ground with a shriek, but the mugger was already moving to sprint with the backpack in his hand - everything was too fast and Chanyeol was at a loss to do anything, until a voice snapped him out of his stupor.

“Please! Get the backpack!” Prince Baekhyun practically screamed at Chanyeol, and without even thinking ahead, the taller found himself darting towards the mugger, and thanks to his long legs and an adrenaline burst, he quickly caught up to the man in black and seized the backpack with such strength that he forced the man to fall ungracefully on his back.

“I’m telling you there really are only cat food in here!! If you want these so badly I’m sure the pri — the kid would give you a lot if you just ask him nicely...” At this point, Chanyeol was feeling desperate for the whole thing to just end.

‘I’m not a kid!’ Chanyeol heard the smaller exclaim but he couldn’t pay him any mind as the mugger stood up, vomited profanities and lunged towards him with all of his weight instead before bolting away. Chanyeol was so taken aback he fell on his bottom and scraped his palm, but he was unfazed by the pain as he became aware the mugger was gone.

“Thank God that’s over. Now, would ‘someone’ kindly tell me how on earth did he know the contents of my bag?” Chanyeol realized that ‘someone’ could only refer to him as he was the only one around.  
“Could you perhaps be one of those stalkers? Have you been following me from the cat festival? That’s certainly a long way. I’ll have you know that I’m only one call away from your decapitation, so tell me the truth,” the prince said as he waved his mobile around with his left hand.

“You’re welcome, Your Highness. And I’m not one of those stalkers you’re thinking about. In fact, I’m your teacher for the piano class you’re supposed to attend several hours ago.”

“What nonsense are you spouting? What’s up with the ‘highness’! Are you crazy? I don’t have piano classes! Don’t lie to me, or I’ll call the police!”

“Your Highness, did you fall too hard and forgot who you are? I’m pretty sure you didn’t hit your head. You are Prince Byun Baekhyun, and I am your piano teacher, Park Chanyeol. Ring any bell?” Chanyeol said after making sure there was no one around.

“What are you even talking about?! What prince?! Mr... Park, is it? How am I supposed to know you’re not a stalker after you yourself have proven you’ve been following me from Jade Street? And who is this prince you’re talking about? I’m no prince, you sure know how to kid.”

“Prince Baekhyun, first of all I would like to say that you’re a terrible liar. No one in this world would think to threaten someone with decapitation, unless you’re royal or something. Second of all, I really do wish, after all the hard work of getting back your bag full of cat food, I could get a little appreciation in the form of ‘thank you’. Thirdly, I am your piano teacher and you do have piano classes. I have not only been following you from the cat festival, I followed you from your home, even crawled through that vent behind the curtain. So now do you believe me?”

The little prince only stared at him with his mouth gaped, still sitting on the floor, and only then did Chanyeol notice that the boy was holding his right wrist tightly, he probably sprained his wrist from the fall and could not bring himself to stand up with only one hand.

“Is your wrist okay?”

“It’s fine,” Prince Baekhyun said as he attempted to stand but fell with a yelp, immediately holding his right foot.

“Your ankle certainly is not.”

“Won’t you lend a hand?” The prince said with his hands on his waist, trying to act all mighty but Chanyeol could see tears welling up in his tawny eyes, making them shine.

Chanyeol pulled the prince up, but the smaller couldn’t even stand for a minute, so Chanyeol decided to give him a piggyback ride, which was more practical but really infuriated the smaller. 

“Where are we going? Home is that way.”

“To the clinic, duh. Does Your Highness want to go home looking like this?”

Every now and then, Prince Baekhyun would wince from pain so Chanyeol tried to walk in a way that jostled the prince as little as possible, what with the big backpack he had to carry as well. After what felt like 10 minutes of walking in silence, the prince opened his mouth.

“Why are your ears so big? Like elephant’s ears.” Prince Baekhyun flicked the taller’s ear and laughed when it flapped.

“Stop that. That hurts, you know...” Chanyeol said but he knew his words were falling on deaf ears.

“Are you really my piano teacher? You’re not planning to kidnap me or anything, right?”

“Yes, unfortunately I am your piano teacher. Kidnapping Your Highness is the last thing I want to do now that I know how annoying the prince could be.”

“Hey! I dare you to repeat what you said.”

“Your Highness, do you do this often?” Chanyeol could not stop himself.

“What?!” Prince Baekhyun’s voice revealed his displeasure at Chanyeol, or the time he was forced to spend with the taller stuck on his broad back, or maybe at the whole situation.

“You know, this whole escapade thing. Anyone else know about this?”

“Of course not! You must promise me to not let anyone know about the secret exit behind the sofa.”

“Sure, only if Your Highness tell me every time Your Highness decides to do this expedition.” Chanyeol daringly turned his head around to look at the prince, but all he received was a flick on his ear.

“Are you threatening me?”

“It’s for your safety, Your Highness.” Chanyeol sing-songed.

“Just stop with the ‘highness’,” Prince Baekhyun pinched his ear mercilessly, making the taller whine.

“But that is the proper way to address you, Prince Baekhyun.”

“The way you say it just makes me boil, I would prefer it if you just keep your mouth shut.”

“As you wish, my prince... Ouch! Okay!! Okay! I’m sorry!”

Chanyeol knew he could make more conversations with the prince, especially with his curiousity to know the purpose of the abundance of cat food the smaller had bought, but he figured he should give his inflammed ear some rest. 


End file.
